2. analog
  3. 1228441200

My LP couldn't beat my CD, until now

I'm an owner of a new VPI Scoutmaster w/Sumiko Blackbird cart. I, like so many recently, have returned to vinyl after a long time, seeking (as always) the absolute sound.

I'm an 80s kid; a product of the CD revolution. I enjoy my Slim Devices Transporter and all the convenience it delivers. However, I've felt that there's been something missing around music listening, and everyone's talking about analog anyway, so I took the plunge.

Imagine my disappointment when I set up my new 'table, wire it all up, and the first few albums sound flat, a little shrill and generally thin compared to a good rip of the same music off of CD.

I chalk all this up to break-in, to everything in the signal chain from the cartridge to the amp being new and untested. I'm also new at this, and have never set up a tonearm in my life (my goodness, it's a fiddly exercise).

I give it 20 hours of playing time or so, forcibly choosing not to judge. I wait patiently for everything to work in. Still, I find most recordings of everything from Pop & Rock to The Firebird Suite to be palatable and fine listening, but far from the nirvana of naturalness and organic ease everyone says is on LPs.

Well, friends, I think I've had one of those 'holy cow!' moments that come in audiophilia so rarely. A fellow AudiogoNer's recent sale just arrived at my door, and I swapped it in. It's a McCormack Micro Phono Drive, and it's made a tremendous difference in this setup. (I also changed the cable from arm to preamp from Hero to King Cobra for length, but I truly doubt that's what I'm hearing.)

My point in posting all this is to say that I never expected such an assumedly minor part of the signal chain to make such a magnificent difference in the enjoyability of LP listening.

It took a pinched soundstage and made it full-bodied. It took a somewhat shrill and tinny, crackly high end and tamed it. It filled in the bass from 'there' to 'wow'. In short, it completely saved what I thought was a flawed and disappointing attempt at analog.

I was all ready to post a 'LP can't possibly beat CD, so what are you smokin'?' message, but this one, simple thing has changed my mind! 80s kids out there, don't lose hope! there really is something to this LP scene.
forddonald
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mapman's avatar
mapman
21,835 posts
 
Ericjcabrera,

That's a good pick.

I'll keep my eyes out and maybe give it a try!
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
12-05-08: Eee3
As has been stated the technics table is a DJ table at best and cannot even be considered a highend table.
Not true. The Technics was not designed to be a DJ table. It was designed to be a reliable, speed-accurate home audio table that is so rugged and reliable that it became the DJ table of choice.

The two biggest factors that make the Technics *seem* inadequate are a too-dark tone from the garden-variety tonearm wire and vibration isolation limited to late '70s' understanding of NVH. These are both easily corrected for very little money. You can also bring the tonearm up to more modern standards with a KAB tonearm rewire and fluid damper, which enables the tonearm to work well with a wide range of cartridges and track difficult and badly warped records. The aluminum alloy platter can be tamed with a better mat. Or you can get upgraded tonearm wire by getting the SL1210 M5G.

You have to spend quite a bit of money in the low-torque belt-drive camp to get speed accuracy and s/n ratio equal to the Technics SL12x0 series, and even then you'll never get its ease of operation.

There are plenty of people on this forum with high end rigs who get high end sound from the Technics DD series.
hevac1
812 posts
 
I think your next purchase for analog should be a VPI 16.5 record cleaner. If you think your records sound good now, just try some clean ones.
Stay with what you have and enjoy for now, the upgrade bug will only get worse. lol.
shakeydeal
979 posts
 
>For cost-no-object it's easy, just buy the top of the line from each of the mfgrs that appeal to you, or buy what A.S./Stereophile recommends.<

This is sometimes a recipe for disaster, but it's exactly what many newbies to our hobby do. Synergy is key to putting together a system that actually makes music. But some would rather just throw money at the problem and cross their fingers. As you grow into this hobby you will see that the expensive stuff is not always the gear that sounds the best. Sometimes, but not always.....

Shakey
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